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The Wise Queen: A Traditional European Folktale
A girl's cleverness helps her not only to become the queen, but to keep that position as well.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
26 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 1986
36 people want to read
About the author
Anthea Bell
448 books183 followersAnthea Bell OBE (born 1936) was an English translator who has translated numerous literary works, especially children's literature, from French, German and Danish to English. She was known for her numerous translations, including Austerlitz, one of the most significant German language works of fiction for the period since World War II, and of the French Asterix comics along with co-translator Derek Hockridge
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 19, 2019
When a king gives one of his ministers an impossible task to complete, the minister's clever daughter helps him to find a solution, winning the admiration, and eventually the love, of their ruler. Although she promises, when she and the king marry, that she will not interfere with her husband's legal decisions, the wise young queen finds herself doing just that, after a young boy is unjustly deprived of his calf. Having angered her husband, the queen is condemned to exile, although she does convince her angry spouse to allow her to take the thing "she loves most" with her...
Simply told by prolific translator Anthea Bell, and beautifully illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki - one of Japan's most beloved picture-book artists - The Wise Queen is an entertaining tale in which wisdom triumphs over resentment and small-minded jealousy. I enjoyed it immensely, although I was irritated at its description as a "European" tale. Having ranted about those books in which "folktales" are described as "Indian" or "Native American," with no further information given - as if the diverse folk traditions of an entire continent could somehow be collapsed into one undifferentiated whole - I find myself as unsympathetic to the same carelessness (somewhat less common, I think) in the retelling of European folklore. There is a brief note at the front, mentioning that this version was collected by Moses Gaster. Should I therefore assume that it is either Jewish or Romanian? If so, why not just say so, and mention that there are many other European variants?
Four stars for the tale itself, and for the lovely watercolor artwork. The odd (non)classification issue might have merited a deduction of one star, but I decided to be generous, since some information as to source was provided.
Simply told by prolific translator Anthea Bell, and beautifully illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki - one of Japan's most beloved picture-book artists - The Wise Queen is an entertaining tale in which wisdom triumphs over resentment and small-minded jealousy. I enjoyed it immensely, although I was irritated at its description as a "European" tale. Having ranted about those books in which "folktales" are described as "Indian" or "Native American," with no further information given - as if the diverse folk traditions of an entire continent could somehow be collapsed into one undifferentiated whole - I find myself as unsympathetic to the same carelessness (somewhat less common, I think) in the retelling of European folklore. There is a brief note at the front, mentioning that this version was collected by Moses Gaster. Should I therefore assume that it is either Jewish or Romanian? If so, why not just say so, and mention that there are many other European variants?
Four stars for the tale itself, and for the lovely watercolor artwork. The odd (non)classification issue might have merited a deduction of one star, but I decided to be generous, since some information as to source was provided.
Displaying 1 of 1 review